


Bloom

by demon_faith



Series: The Pulp Duet [1]
Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League of America (Comics)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-02
Updated: 2007-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-27 12:46:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6285067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demon_faith/pseuds/demon_faith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a raid gone wrong, Ted must suffer through withdrawal. But where is Booster?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> [](http://writers-choice.livejournal.com/profile)[writers_choice](http://writers-choice.livejournal.com/): crave  
>  I really am very mean to Ted. I promise that next time I’ll beat up Booster *nods*.  
> I am choosing to ignore all the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, because continuity makes my head hurt. In this particular story, this refers mostly to Max, because I actually quite like him. Bah Crisiscakes!

“Why do we always have to investigate the dark, creepy places?”

Ted shivered and felt Booster brush past him. “Intimate, isn’t it?”

“Booster!” He was glad the shadows hid his blush. “What did J’onn say we were looking for?”

“Some kind of drugs and equipment. I was hoping you could tell me.”

“Just because I’m a scientist, Boost- aah!”

Something wet grabbed his face, sucking the breath from his lungs as powder exploded into his eyes.

“Blue? What are you…”

He was held close, and the thing was torn from his mouth. He spluttered for breath as everything closed in and the darkness became complete.

~

Bea cleaned up the table and smirked at Guy, who threw up his hands.

“It’s the breasts!” He made vague gestures around his chest. “You’re a cheat!”

She rolled her eyes and started resetting the table. “Best of eleven, Guy?”

The door burst open and Bea turned to see Booster carrying an unconscious Beetle in his arms. He was pale and shaking and it seemed like Beetle was about to fall from his trembling arms. Guy dropped the cue and hurried over, surrounding Beetle with green light and carrying him away to the Med-lab.

Bea hurried after him and it was only at the Med-lab door that she realised Booster wasn’t behind her. She backtracked down the corridor but he was nowhere to be seen. She glanced round once more before returning to Ted’s side.

J’onn was peering into his unconscious face, wiping away some kind of sticky purple residue from Ted’s lips.

“Pulp.” His face contorted horribly. “PULP!”

The roar caused Bea’s world to be temporarily muffled and she clapped her hands to her ears. Ted didn’t even flinch.

“This…poison makes addicts in minutes,” J’onn ground out, looking beyond angry. “Every cell contaminated. This will be…difficult.”

Bea backed away. “I’ll find Booster,” she heard herself saying and then ran from the lab.

~

“Has anyone located Booster yet?”

The meeting was tense. J’onn had not been sleeping. Even in this protected sanctuary, they could hear the screams from down the hall.

“No,” Bea said, shakily. “He just…vanished.”

“Did he say anything? Anything at all?” Max was desperate now. If anyone knew how to calm Ted, to comfort him, it had to be Booster. He was protecting his investment, that was it – he wasn’t…he…

He needed his family to be whole.

“Nothing. I took…I took Beetle, and then he split,” Guy said, shaking his head. It was sobering to watch.

“We must continue looking for him,” J’onn said softly, and then rose from the table. “I must return to my patient, excuse me.”

Silence followed.

~

She had gone to the Bug to seek solace in her lines, her beauty, her Tedness. The last thing she’d expected to find was Booster Gold.

“Booster?” she said softly, and the huddle stirred slightly.

“Didn’t think you’d find me,” he rasped, sounding about thirty years older. “And it’s…Michael now. No hero here.”

She sat down beside him, and he drew away slightly, wrapping himself up in the blanket and staring into space.

“Boo- Michael, Ted needs you.”

He hung his head. “No, he doesn’t.” A strangled sob. “And I can’t.”

Bea reached out to him, but withdrew her hand as he started. “Please, just go.”

“Tell me, Booster. You can tell me.”

He stood suddenly and she shrank back, staring at this wild man, shrouded in Ted’s blanket and crying a stream of tears.

“I’ve seen it, the Pulp. It invades and it sickens and it kills. And I…I can’t watch Ted go through that. I’m…not brave enough.”

Booster crumpled in on himself but as Bea came close, he shook her off, turning his back on her. “Now, leave me alone.”

~

He woke up and wondered if Ted was dead yet.

Alone in the Bug, he sat perfectly still and tried not to picture Ted’s face. It was hard. He tried not to see the body falling apart, tearing itself to pieces and leaving a ruin. He couldn’t stop seeing it. It invaded every pore, every sense, every waking moment.

He flung off the blanket. No more.

Michael Carter stood shakily and began to methodically change into his uniform. With a straightened spine and clear sight, he strode out of his self-made prison and through the headquarters. With purpose, he entered the Med-lab and walked over to the bed where his best friend suffered.

“Hello Ted,” he whispered. Ted screamed.

Booster didn’t flinch. He gently moved his hands over Ted’s skin, digging his fingers into spasming muscles, bearing out the wailing and the swearing and the abuse. He carried on until they were both just breathing into the space between, salt tracts drying on their cheeks.

Then, he lifted up his friend and carried him to his room, where he tucked him into his own bed and sat on the edge, waiting and watching.

No more.

~

J’onn sent her in to check up on them. No one had heard any screaming for two days and they weren’t entirely sure what that meant. She pushed open the door gently and turned up the lights.

Ted and Booster were both under the covers, curled around each other and, finally, sleeping. Booster held Ted protectively, arms encircling him, whilst Ted’s head fitted neatly under his chin. They looked peaceful. They looked alive.

Booster stirred first and blinked up at her, offering a small smile. Ted started then and committed himself to the waking world, staring at Bea as if she were an apparition.

“Am I dead yet?” he muttered thickly.

“Shh,” Booster said softly, brushing a hand through his hair. “You’re fine. You’re going to be fine.”

“Oh, good,” he said, before drifting back to sleep. Booster pulled him closer and let his eyes fall shut.

Bea crept out into the corridor and met J’onn’s concerned face.

“They’ll be fine,” she said and walked away, smiling.


End file.
